Bihar assembly polls: AIMIM to contest from Seemanchal

Hyderabad:All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Saturday decided to contest the Bihar assembly elections. Party president Asaduddin Owaisi announced that the party would contest only from Seemanchal region of the state.

He told reporters that the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) will soon announce the number of seats it will be contesting for. He also announced that Akhtarul Iman would be the president of the Bihar unit for AIMIM. Iman, a Three-time legislator of Bihar, quit the Janata Dal United last year.

Seemanchal region in Bihar comprising four districts accounts for 24 assembly seats in the 243-member assembly. The Hyderabad MP said the backwardness of Seemanchal would be the main poll issue for his party. “We will demand a regional development board under Article 371 of the constitution for the overall development of Seemanchal,” he said blaming the Congress, BJP, RJD and JDU for the region’s backwardness.

Owaisi, who addressed a public meeting in Seemanchal last month, made it clear that AIMIM would contest the elections on its own. He, however, did not rule out post-poll alliances.

“We are realistic about our chances. We know our strengths and weaknesses,” said Owaisi when asked why his party chose to contest in only one region.

The Muslim leader said the party would carry Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs). These sections make up 70 to 75 per cent of Seemanchal’s population.

“Why do you limit us to Muslims. You have Dalits, OBCs and various people. We are talking about development of Seemanchal which includes every section of society,” he said.

For the rest of Bihar, Owaisi appealed to people to defeat communal forces. “There are communists and others. There are many options before people,” he said when asked if he was urging people to vote for the grand alliance of the JDU, RJD and Congress.

“You are not the only flag-bearers of secularism. We are not coolies of secularism. We also have the capacity and credibility to take on communal forces,” he said.

The AIMIM chief urged his political opponents to stop blaming his party for their weakness and inefficiency. Bihar will be the third state after Telangana and Maharashtra, where MIM will be contesting the assembly polls.

The party, which has its stronghold in Hyderabad, has one MP and seven members in the Telangana assembly. The party also made an impressive debut in last year’s Maharashtra elections by winning two seats out of the 26 it contested in the western state.

Hyderabad: MIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday said that he will not be cowed down by threats from Islamic State, and continue to speak out against it as it has nothing to do with Islam.

A day after somebody tweeted on his wall, asking him to shut his mouth and leave democracy, the Hyderabad MP, who moves around without any security, said he would not seek protection in the wake of threats.

I receive such threats everyday. I will live as long as Allah wills,

Stating that IS’ ideology is devilish and based on hatred, Owaisi said there was need to finish this ideology.

“They don’t know mercy. They don’t know the meaning of mercy. They massacred 1.5 lakh Muslims, including scholars,” he said, pointing out that all Islamic scholars in India and abroad have condemned IS actions and urged people to be cautious.

He said his Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) had taken a political stand that it is against all anti-national forces.

Nobody can cast an evil eye on India. All Indians irrespective of their religion will unitedly counter any such threat. We have political differences and we will continue to have it, but when it comes to the integrity of our beloved country, we are one,

An alleged IS sympathizer had tweeted Wednesday “It’s better for you to shut your mouth on Islamic State if you don’t know the truth, Islamic State will invade India soon.”

To this Owaisi replied “Sir, you are a bloody Takfiri, if you want to debate on evil ISIS I am ready you will not be able to counter my theological Points.”

You can dream so keep dreaming Takfiri read book on ISIS will bring you out of Darkness of ISIS Allah give Taufeeq,

Takfiri is the word used for those Muslims who accuse other Muslims of apostasy. Owaisi said he replied as he would not have kept quiet on the rubbish of invading India.

The IS sympathizer, then tweeted asking Owaisi to leave democracy. “Your Disgrace for Muslims of India. Opposing Islamic state will lead you to hell only repent before end.”

Owaisi told reporters that this itself shows that IS thinking is devilish. “The power of sending somebody to hell or heaven rests solely with Allah. It’s not in the hands of any human being,” he added.

Asked why he did not lodge a complaint with police, the MP said when the government is monitoring everything, it was for the government to trace the person who tweeted and take action.

On Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy’s statement that the work on the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya would start before this year-end, the MIM chief said it was contempt of court as the matter was subjudice.

Swamy had also stated on Wednesday that he hoped the Supreme Court would deliver the judgment in Ayodhya case by August-September.

“How does he know when the court is going to give the verdict,” the MP asked and alleged that Swamy is casting aspersions on the Supreme Court.

On the pillars and stones being brought into Ayodhya by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, he demanded that the Uttar Pradesh government should take immediate action and seize the material.

Pointing out that the status quo has to be maintained as per the orders of the Supreme Court, Owaisi said, though preparations were being made for an offense, the state government was doing nothing, and alleged that the ruling Samajwadi Party is hand-in-glove with the BJP. (Inputs from IANS)(Photo: Deccan Chronicle)

New Delhi: After NDA’s defeat in Bihar, finance minister Arun Jaitley said that the loss will not hamper the economic reform process in Bihar. “I don’t see it as a setback to the economy and structural reforms will continue. They should continue at a rapid pace”

He said the government would continue with reforms by taking executive actions and also in the Budget, which would be declared in February next year.

“Our commitment is the states which need to develop more we have to help them more,” he added.

While NDA managed to get only 58 seats (BJP 53) in the 243-member Bihar assembly, Mahagathbandhan comprising of RJD,JD(U) and Congress got a whooping 178 seats.

The Finance Minister said that the “index of opposition unity” was one of the major factors that led to the triumph of the Mahagathbandhan in the Bihar assembly elections.

He admitted that some irresponsible statements by certain BJP members changed the narrative, leading to their loss.

When quizzed about the loss he said, “I don’t see it as a setback to the economy at all. If under Nitish Kumar, Bihar grows and grows well, we have already announced economic package for the state, certainly we are going to help.”

On the specific question of the pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, he hoped that Bihar would support the legislation.

In an interview with a magazine on being asked whether Bihar election was a referendum on the policies of the Centre, Arun Jaitley said, “The word referendum is loosely used.Every election is not a referendum. A state election is not a referendum. You are not contesting on one issue.”

Patna: Around 9.5 lakh voters in Bihar chose not to vote for any candidate in the assembly elections and pressed the “None of the Above” (NOTA) button on the electronic voting machines (EVMs).

According to statistics released by the Election Commission on Sunday night, a total of 9,47,276 voters chose NOTA — 2.5 percent of the total votes polled.

The Grand Alliance of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress won a whopping 178 of the 243 seats, leaving the BJP and its allies with just 58 seats.

Congress also made impressive gains winning 27 seats out of 41. It had won only 4 last time.

Former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM won only one of the two seats he contested and lost in all the 19 others it fought in.

But amid all the euphoria and boost the result gave to its national campaign against the BJP and Modi, the Congress has a worry. The Bihar results showed that a viable and credible anti-BJP front could take shape and that the Congress may not be the fulcrum of it. That would end the Congress position as even the main opposition party.

‘This mandate is against Modi’

The mandate in Bihar is against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will impact national politics, RJD leader Lalu Prasad said on Monday.

“The mandate we have got is to fight Delhi, Modi,” the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader and the former chief minister told the media, a day after the Grand Alliance routed the BJP combine in assembly polls.

“Communal and fascist forces are ruling Delhi. To keep them in power even for one more day will amount to breaking up the country,” he said.

“This is my view, others may agree or not,” he added.

The RJD leader reiterated that the sweeping victory of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), the RJD and Congress over the four-party combine of the BJP would impact national politics.

Lalu Prasad blamed the Modi government for rising prices of food and even train and air travel.

“Traders and businessmen are terrorized today. Nobody is feeling safe. Everyone is terrorized.”

He said the reason why the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the 2014 Lok Sabha election was because its leaders “fooled everyone” with false promises.

“They talked about ‘achche din, achche din’ but such bad days have come.”

He also criticized political pundits and analysts who called him “chara chor (fodder thief)” and “criminal” in television debates, saying his win would mark a return of “jungle raj” in Bihar.

“We have taken this in bad taste,” he said. “I want to tell all these people to try to understand Bihar better. Ultimately, people are the best judge.”

Lalu Prasad again thanked the people of Bihar for giving the Grand Alliance a landslide win and said the coalition government in the state “will work fine under Nitish Kumar’s leadership”.

“We will use Bihar’s resources properly, we will also fight against Delhi for our rights.”